Van Gogh Sells for $70 Million

BETH GARDINER

Nov. 20, 1998

NEW YORK (AP) _ Vincent Van Gogh's ``Portrait of the Artist Without Beard,'' which he painted in an asylum near the end of his life and gave it to his mother for her birthday, sold for more than $71 million at auction Thursday.

The 1889 self-portrait, believed to be the last ever completed by the troubled artist, brought the second highest price ever paid for a work by van Gogh and the third highest price ever achieved at auction. The price was more than triple the $20 million it was expected to bring.